In applications where in-service use of a gaseous fuel storage system is unknown to a manufacturer of the system, designing a safe system is challenging due to many factors that can contribute to failure of various components of the system. A failure of a component of a high-pressure storage system can have consequences that range from inconvenience to catastrophic.
An example where a manufacturer cannot predict the in-service use is on vehicles where gaseous fuels such as hydrogen and natural gas can be used as a replacement for conventional liquid fuels for transportation. These new fuels are consumed in internal combustion engines, fuel cells, turbines or other devices to provide motive or auxiliary power to vehicles either directly or indirectly.
Although these fuels can be stored in a variety of ways, they are most commonly stored as a high-pressure gas in a high-pressure storage system.
To prevent failures, typical systems are designed to have a service life that exceeds normal usage. As well, certain maintenance and inspection procedures are required during the time that the storage system is in service. Since the useful life of a storage system is determined by a variety of factors, there is a need for systems and methods that are capable of correlating these factors accurately with design parameters to determine the remaining service life of a given storage system.
In addition, a fuel storage diagnostic system can be used with other components on a vehicle to enhance diagnostics and to improve safety and convenience. As well, since gaseous fuels are under pressure, a small leak, which may not be detected in normal operations, over time can release substantial quantities of fuel and detecting such occurrences would be useful to users.